1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to initiating a call using hot-key function in a mobile terminal, and in particular, to an apparatus and method for searching for a telephone number and initiating a call, using a hot-key function in a mobile terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Along with the rapid proliferation of mobile terminals due to their convenient portability, terminal manufacturers are competing to develop mobile terminals with advanced functions, in an effort to secure more users. Recently, however, though mobile terminals with multimedia input and output devices have been widely used, the function of searching for a telephone number from a phone book and dialing has not improved effectively, in view of the convenience of users.
For example, a conventional so called “phone book” function of mobile terminals includes steps of searching phone book database based on a person's name and listing the search result in alphabetical order of matching names. The function additionally provides searching using variables such as part of telephone number, the time of storing telephone number, and classified group. The function may also provide a direct call using voice recognition.
Conventional techniques may also use abbreviated numbers having one to three figures, which are assigned to frequently used telephone numbers. This technology enables users to dial the telephone numbers by touching only the corresponding abbreviated numbers. For example, ten frequently used telephone numbers may be mapped as key numbers 0 to 9 of the keypad. However, as the quantity of abbreviated numbers increases, it becomes necessary to assign more than one digit-abbreviated number to a desired telephone number, thereby causing inconvenience to the mobile terminal user.